The Office of Partnerships, Communications
and Community Engagement

Head of the Department:

• Michael A. Sarbanes

Sub Departments: 

• Communications
• Partnerships
• Family and Community Engagement

Sub Department Directors:

Director of Public Information: Edie House Foster

Mission Statement:

The Office of Partnerships, Communications and Community Engagement strengthens the vital link between our schools and the energy and resources of our families and communities, and keeps open an active line of communication so that school stakeholders and the larger community can understand and engage with the creation of a system of great schools.

What We Do:

The Office of Partnerships, Communications and Community Engagement, newly organized as of July 1, 2008, represents a new operational capacity and direction for Baltimore City Public Schools (City Schools).

There are a number of related functions for which the office is responsible which are essential to the transformation process now underway. The office plays the primary role in shaping the school system’s interaction beyond the system’s employees and for ensuring timely and effective communication with system staff as well. The city has a wealth of resources and potential partners that can be mobilized on behalf of schools. These resources will be essential to creating a system of great schools. The office is the key systemic link with families of our students, and works with schools and family leaders to increase family and community engagement and support for our schools. The office coordinates all communications for City Schools, both internal and external. The transformation of the schools now underway requires effective and intensive communications with the public, key partners, and system staff. In addition, it requires an enhanced ability to shape the way that our schools and students are portrayed and understood by both members of the public and school system staff and an enhanced capacity to reach partners and families through multiple means, including an expert use of electronic media.

To be truly effective, the various responsibilities of the office must be seamlessly integrated, breaking down “stovepipes” that can limit the flow of information and restrict close collaboration. Effective functioning of the office requires that staff be able to work flexibly across these different issues and functions – partnerships, communications, community engagement – and to work at the same time with specific schools on a systemic level. The key functions of the central office are guidance, supports, and accountability. The Office of Partnerships, Communications and Community Engagement will establish guidance for schools and central office for its areas of responsibility. It will provide training and technical assistance for system staff, partners, families, and others to achieve system and school level goals. This will include appropriate intervention in situations where conflict or misunderstandings at the school level require assistance beyond the school. And it will establish and monitor systems to measure results, identify areas that need improvement, and identify practices that can and should be replicated more broadly.

Contact Information:

Michael A. Sarbanes
Executive Director
Central Administration
200 E. North Avenue (Room 405)
msarbanes@bcps.k12.md.us
410-545-1870

Deb Silcox
Community Engagement Specialist – Career Partnerships
Central Administration
200 E. North Avenue (Room 317)
dsilcox@bcps.k12.md.us
410-545-1870

Edie House Foster
Director of Public Information
Central Administration
200 E. North Avenue (Room 317)
ehouse@bcps.k12.md.us.
410-545-1870